"Mhmm.... mnm..."
Trying his best to explain, he mumbled something, but due to the hand on his mouth, he couldn't quite speak. Noticing belatedly, Wi Hajoon nonchalantly removed his hand and wiped it off on Rim Young's shirt, unintentionally rubbing on his stomach, which made him flinch.
"What? Are you feeling scared of me now?"
"No, that's not it...."
Rim Young stared at the spot on his shirt that was just now rubbed by Wi Hajoon's hand. It wasn't a big deal, really, but... he consciously stepped aside from Wi Hajoon to put some distance between them.
"It's a little uncomfortable. Please don't touch me."
"Touch? Who's touching you?"
Shocked beyond belief, Wi Hajoon exasperated and put the same hand he had used to cover Rim Young's mouth over his own mouth to contain his anger and voice, but remembering it was that same hand, he got even more angry at Rim Young or himself, perhaps.
"Look here. I've had a long day today, alright? If you have had your fun here, get out of the restricted zone before someone else sees you."
"I haven't had any fun yet."
Staring at Wi Hajoon, he blurted out with a straight face. It was somewhat true; he hadn't done what he came here for yet. He needed to keep the two Espers away from each other.
"This isn't a place for you to have fun, anyways."
With a serious expression on his face and a tone even more strict, he responded to Rim Young and stared for a moment before his eyes fell down on the water bottle strapped to Rim Young's crossbody bag on his chest. Without asking, Wi Hajoon reached for the water bottle and put his lips on the bottle's mouth. Rim Young instantly turned his face to the side.
Ugh....
He had already drunk from this bottle. Why put your mouth on other people's things?
"Are you thirsty? Want me to leave some for you?"
"No."
How could he drink from this water bottle now? He rejected the offer without any consideration.
"Suit yourself..."
Still drinking as if he was really parched, his gaze suddenly moved to Rim Young and he frowned.
"What's with you again? Why are your ears so red, and where are you looking?"
Wi Hajoon glanced in the same direction as him only to see a wall in the distance. He stared back at Rim Young with disappointment and gave him the water bottle back. Rim Young quietly accepted the empty traveling water bottle and strapped it back to his crossbody bag.
"You can go back by yourself, right? Just go back to where you came from."
"....."
"Use your words. Can you go back?"
"No, I can't."
They both stared at each other, standing in the blackened building with dim lighting as evening was approaching soon, with completely different emotions and thoughts. Rim Young wasn't particularly in a hurry; his job here was to distract Wi Hajoon. They could just waste time here like this too.
After a while, Rim Young was fidgeting with his binoculars when Wi Hajoon, without saying anything, began to walk away from him. Dropping the binoculars from his hands, he ran after him promptly.
"Don't be noisy. The monster we just encountered can sense you out with the slightest noise or movement."
Not stopping him from following him, Wi Hajoon instead warned him of the dangers inside this restricted zone specifically as they climbed down the emergency stairs of the building as silently as they could. By the time they were out, they could only whisper to each other. That's why both of them didn't say anything. Not a word was spoken between them. Rim Young only followed behind Wi Hajoon, who avoided all monsters, taking him somewhere, probably. Curiosity got the best of him as he slightly and cautiously leaned forward to whisper to Wi Hajoon.
"Where are we going?"
Wi Hajoon pretended like he didn't hear him and continued walking ahead. Rim Young stopped in his tracks. Was he being taken to the safe zone? The safe zone was connected to the restricted zone, reserved for the onsite guides and staff members watching over the Espers' conditions and waiting for the Espers to return. The safe zone was the closest a guide could get to the restricted zones, and Su Iseul was definitely waiting for Hyeong Ki and Wi Hajoon there, but he didn't need to stay with Su Iseul. He needed to stay here with Wi Hajoon.
Should I... quietly slip out now?
He had thought it was a good thing he had found Wi Hajoon by chance this early, but maybe it wasn't a good thing. There was time before sunset, the time when Wi Hajoon and Hyeong Ki get into an argument. He couldn't leave before then. It was non-negotiable.
[Yes, if you leave now, the system will automatically decrease your chances of succeeding in clearing your objective, participant #555.]
[A reminder: if your chances of succeeding drop lower than 20%—a fifth of the total percentage—the system will start searching for the next participant.]
Getting threatened by your kidnapper was to be expected. Rim Young wasn't surprised by the reminder.
What are my chances right now if I don't leave?
[Your current chances of succeeding are 25%.]
Seeing the low number, he was disheartened. That meant he was far from saving Wi Hajoon from a tragic and painful end. This story was actually a tragedy where everyone, including Wi Hajoon, dies at the end. Hyeong Ki and Su Iseul also get an unhappy ending by dying hand in hand after Wi Hajoon shifts the world's metal around, killing millions in his fury, and then dies painfully from a heart attack.
At that moment, Wi Hajoon, whose silhouette was beginning to look smaller and smaller, turned around and saw that Rim Young was standing still, quite far from him. He was caught before he could even make an effort to hide or run. Not coming back to him, Wi Hajoon stared at him for a few seconds before Rim Young felt a quiver on his chest.
The water bottle strapped to his crossbody bag was shaking ever so slightly, alerting him. Rim Young gripped the metallic water bottle with both hands and stared back at Wi Hajoon, shaking his head at him to stop, but instead of stopping, Rim Young felt himself being dragged with the water bottle towards Wi Hajoon.